rowan
[roh-uh n, rou-]
- the European mountain ash, Sorbus aucuparia, having pinnate leaves and clusters of bright red berries.
- either of two American mountain ashes, Sorbus americana or S. sambucifolia.
- the berry of any of these trees.
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Origin of rowan
1795–1805; < Old Norse *raun- in reynir, Norwegian raun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for rowan
Contemporary Examples
Liam Neeson was across from me, Rowan Atkinson was seated next to me, and on the other side was Laura Linney.
Love Actually’s 10th Anniversary: The Cast and Crew Reminisce About the Christmas ClassicMarlow Stern
November 7, 2013
And Joe Morton as Rowan roars each line with all of the ferocity—and then some—they require.
“The White House will destroy you,” Rowan warns, when Olivia decides not to escape and to face the wrath of the media.
Rowan was tried on a lesser weapons-possession charge—not assault.
Trayvon Martin: Other ‘Stand Your Ground’ Cases, From Florida to North CarolinaClark Merrefield
March 23, 2012
A pro-gun group, Gun Owners of America, offered Rowan legal assistance.
Trayvon Martin: Other ‘Stand Your Ground’ Cases, From Florida to North CarolinaClark Merrefield
March 23, 2012
Historical Examples
Such were conditions in Rowan County on the day of election, August, 1884.
Kentucky's Famous Feuds and TragediesChas. G Mutzenberg
The Rowan diagram is to the same scale as the Taylor and Gantt diagrams.
A Rational Wages SystemHenry Atkinson
She is a beautiful spirit, and sleeps in that pool under the rowan.
Pharais and The Mountain LoversFiona Macleod
Grandmother, would you lend me the rowan branch if—if I were to go?
The Quiver, 2/1900Various
It is easy, if the man is strong, and you hef the rowan with you.
The Quiver, 2/1900Various
rowan
- another name for the (European) mountain ash
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Word Origin
C16: from Scandinavian; compare Norwegian rogn, raun, Old Norse reynir
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for rowan
n.
"mountain ash," 1804, from rowan-tree, rountree (1540s), northern English and Scottish, from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse reynir, Swedish Ronn "the rowan"), ultimately from the root of red, in reference to the berries.
There were those in this neighbourhood, long after the beginning of the present century, who believed that a slip of rowan tree carried on their person dispelled glamour, and rendered nugatory all the powers of sorcery and witchcraft. [Alexander Laing, "Lindores Abbey and the Burgh of Newburgh," Edinburgh, 1876]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper